With the holidays nigh, I'm sure most sedditors are looking at a few flights to and from home. I wanted to suggest something you can do to hone your skills in transit.

Once you find your seat on the plane, a hundred other people are going to sullenly filter past you in single file. Your challenge is to give all the attractive women (or hell, all the women period) your best, most winning smile. How many smile back at you? Does one suddenly decide to take that open seat next to you?

Seriously, do this. I'm pretty shy and have a ton of AA. It's tough for me to work up the courage to open HBs in public, and I was surprised at how much of a reaction I got from women I smiled at on my flight home last night. It showed me that just as I can smile at anyone, I can talk to anyone. A smile is something that people universally react to positively. If you're worried about approach, start by building your ability to connect with a smile!